SACP EC; Vindicated by SCA ‘BCMM and ASLA’ Judgement

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Eastern Cape notes and welcomes the judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa on the matter between Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and ASLA Construction Company.

As the SACP we feel vindicated by this judgement which found the contract between BCMM and ASLA to be valid and legal, and further found forensic investigation on the same Duncan Village project to be null and void, the municipality has lost the case with costs. This is because the persecution of Cde Andile Fani as the BCMM Municipal Manager was on the basis of the ASLA contract.

September 22, 2016, the SACP in the Eastern Cape issued a statement on the unfair dismissal and persecution of Andile Fani as BCMM Municipal Manager, wherein BCMM fired Andile Fani without giving him any opportunity to rebut and present his side of the story but was dismissed on the outcomes of the case which never involved him.

March 24, 2017, a full bench of judges ruled that the contract between ASLA and BCMM was legal and the forensic investigation to be null and void. The ruling then validates the SACP standpoint that there was no wrongdoing on the side of Andile Fani, but he was persecuted because of his firm stance against corrupt activities in BCMM.

This means the hearing of Cde Fani at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) underway and the criminal case against him opened by the Executive Mayor has collapsed. It also means that those who took the unscrupulous decision to dismiss Fani can be held personally liable for the costs incurred as result of the actions.

The contract which Cde Andile Fani was persecuted for was meant to build houses for the downtrodden on Duncan Village, who have been staying in shacks for a very long time. It has been delayed because of the game thrones by BCMM corrupt network. It is regrettable that once again our people as the case in Duncan Village are represented by the courts yet we claim to be leading society. The fundamental question we should ask ourselves as the movement, is who are we representing precisely?

For more than 3 years, Cde Andile Fani for his commitment to clean governance, fight against corruption and insourcing of municipal services among other many things, has been accused of many things in order to break him and smear his name and that of the SACP. He was accused of having no required qualifications. He was accused of interfering with a R500 0000 tender. He was accused of wrong doing in black plastic bag tender. He was accused of intimidating an employee.

All these received newspaper headlines, in particular the Daily Dispatch which even suggested at some point that he must be fired, but when all these accusations were proven to be incorrect and malicious, no public apology was made nor news coverage received.

We are glad as the SACP, we believed comrade Fani and we stood by his side and that of the people which he was persecuted for defending. We wish to thank all those members of society who supported him and our party during this difficult period.